


National Geographic

by just_ann_now



Category: Firefly
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-02
Updated: 2011-04-02
Packaged: 2017-10-17 10:57:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/176145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_ann_now/pseuds/just_ann_now
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amazing how some things just seem to stick around forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	National Geographic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [allie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/allie/gifts), [Meril (allie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/allie/gifts).



Simon could not believe his eyes. He identified it immediately; after all, he had seen them in museums, but always in climate-controlled storage, handled only by robotic arms. He could not imagine how such a precious artifact, centuries old, had ended up in the middle of the Serenity’s galley table, where Jayne Cobb was slathering ketchup over his protein slab mere inches away.

“Wha...what is that, exactly, and how did it get here, Kaylee?” He tried to keep his voice calm; you could never tell how anybody was going to react around here to anything.

“I got it in a thrift shop, down there on Emerson. You know, where people sell their old stuff they don’t want anymore? That nice man had a whole box of ‘em, all dusty, and most of ‘em torn up. I had to look through ‘em all to find this one.” Simon’s head began to ache at the thought of a priceless trove of Earth history, forgotten in the back room of a seedy junk shop on one of the sorriest excuses for a planet in the whole system.

“It’s what they used to call a ‘zine’,” Kaylee announced proudly, “from Earth-that-Was. They ground up trees to make them, can you imagine? But they always had lots of pictures in them. People in fancy clothes, or shiny things, or nature stuff. Look at this!” She pointed at the picture.

“It’s so peaceful looking,” sighed Zoë.

“Looks like the kind of place where you’d just like to snuggle up nice and warm with someone,” Wash said, snuggling up.

“It looks pure, untouched,” observed Shepherd.

“It’s lovely,” whispered Inara. “I’ve never been any place cold enough to see it,” she added wistfully.

“Damned cold and wet, yes,” grumbled Mal. “ _I’ve_ never thought of it as pretty.”

River began to sway as she chanted:

> “In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan,  
> Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone;  
> Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow,  
> In the bleak midwinter, Long ago. “

“What the hell’s wrong with _her_?” asked Jayne. “Hey, you wanna pass me some more ketchup, Inara? This bottle’s ‘bout empty.” He thumped mightily on the bottom of the bottle, just for good measure.

“It’s a place called ‘Michigan’” Kaylee murmured dreamily. “My folks came from there, way, way back, or so my daddy always says. I don’t know if it’s true myself, but I like the sound of it. I knew that this National Geographic ‘zine had pictures, and every time I went to that shop I’d look for one of this ‘Michigan’. Do you think Michigan looked like this _all_ the time?”

  


[  
](http://photobucket.com)

  


**Author's Note:**

> River’s poem is _A Christmas Carol_ by Christina Rossetti.  
>  The photograph is from _[The Leland Report](http://www.lelandreport.com/)_ , a charming photoblog devoted to the beauty of Leelanau County, Michigan.
> 
> Happy birthday, _again,_ Allie, my favorite Michigananian!


End file.
